A proposed reinterpretation of Gerstmann's syndrome. Article

Ardila, Alfredo. (2014). A proposed reinterpretation of Gerstmann's syndrome. . ARCHIVES OF CLINICAL NEUROPSYCHOLOGY, 29(8), 828-833. 10.1093/arclin/acu056

cited authors

  • Ardila, Alfredo

authors

abstract

  • Gerstmann's syndrome includes the clinical tetrad of finger agnosia, agraphia, acalculia, and right-left confusion. Some disagreement remains with regard to the exact localization of the syndrome, but most probable it involves the left angular gyrus with a subcortical extension. Several authors have suggested that a defect in mental spatial rotations could simultaneously account for acalculia, right-left disorientation, and finger agnosia. It has been also suggested that semantic aphasia is always associated with acalculia; as a matter of fact, left angular gyrus has a significant involvement in semantic processing. In this paper, it is proposed that Gerstmann's syndrome should include: acalculia, finger agnosia, right-left disorientation, and semantic aphasia, but not agraphia. When the pathology extends toward the superior parietal gyrus, agraphia can be found. A fundamental defect (i.e., an impairment in verbally mediated spatial operations) could explain these apparently unrelated clinical signs.

publication date

  • December 1, 2014

published in

keywords

  • Gerstmann Syndrome
  • Humans

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

Medium

  • Print-Electronic

start page

  • 828

end page

  • 833

volume

  • 29

issue

  • 8